Da UK On-line Urban Magazine

Everyone's on the internet now. My 75 year old Nan has got Facebook page, she emails me and lets me know whats going on. Blackberry's, iPhones and the use of dongles are on the increase. EVERYONE is using the net and people are getting addicted to it. The first place someone checks when they need find something . . . Is the net - How many times have you heard someone say: "Google it!"?

I needed an MOT for my car the other day and I found the garage number on the internet. I called them up and went down and got my car done. Any business who is serious needs to have a web presence. They need a site that a potential customer can go on to and see what they do and what they offer, everyone looks for things on the web now.

Some people try the cheap option, which is to just set up a Facebook or a Myspace page and when they send emails they use a hotmail, yahoo or a gmail email address. If you want people to take you seriously - you can't be using a Facebook page as your main website - and it doesn't look professional sending emails from a hotmail account. People will take your company as a joke. If you want to make your company look professional and build confidence with your potential customers there is more than 1 way to do this and this article will explain a few ways to get yourself a business or personal website.

There are a number of steps you'll need to take to get yourself a website up and running, below will be a step by step easy guide to explain how to get up and running within minutes. You need to follow 3 easy steps: 1. Register a name 2. Get some hosting and 3. Build your site! Easy! . . .

1: The first thing you need is a name (or web address). Think of a name that people will remember, but will also represent you company. For exampe: If your company was called 'Super Hats', you might buy the domain name www.superhats.com.

When buying a domain name make sure you consider the following:

• You can buy your domain name, but you can have different endings to your name. You can have yourname.com (meaning worldwide company) or you could get youname.co.uk (meaning company in the UK). There are numerous other names, but I would suggest the 2 options above as they are the most commonly used names in the UK. Other options include: yourname.info, .net, .me, .tv, .mobi, plus there's many more.
• You can buy your domain name from different places (google: 'buy domain names'), but beware as there are a number of sites out there that offer you a range of services but do not cover some important services you will need later. For example: When you buy a name make sure you are able to set up an email address with your name (some companies charge more for this), as when your website is set up you'll need to have an email address, ie: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Make sure you can domain forward - This will let you have a domain name and send all your website visitors somewhere else. For example: You may have domain name, ie: superhats.com - but you may want to forward it to a different website (a different site that you may own, or a place where all your website files are kept)
• Buying a domain name can be complex. A company that provides all the services you will need and charge no additional cost is MRC Media. They are not the cheapest you'll see on the web: a .co.uk registered for 2 years is £10. MRC Media provide a service that is second to none and there are no hidden costs, and they provide additional services that will make it easier to build and manage your website, so you don't need any website building experience. Tel/Text: +44(0)7505 083 681 or Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. MRC Media will check your name is available and purchase it for you - You could have a website up and running within minutes.

2: Next you need webspace or hosting. This is where your website will be kept. This is where all the files (pages and pictures) will go that make your website.

• When buying your web hosting, you need to make sure you will be able to install a number of tools / services that will make it easier to build your website. Most people will get a website designer to build their website and manage their website. MRC Media can build a website and upload it to your web hosting. MRC Media also offer a range of website building tools that anyone can use to set up a website and build their own site. All these tools are included in the webs hosting. This means anyone who uses MRC Media for hosting can get tools to easily build there own site.
• MRC Media charge a one off fee of £30 per year for it's hosting - No additional charges, no monthly payments and this includes a control panel where you can set up your website and your emails. You get loads of extra services to help to easily build a site AND you get a FREE database (usually costs upto £20 per year) which will be vital if you want to build a site to make money etc. There a thousands of web hosting providers, but again - Be careful that you are not buying something that will be useless to you later in the process or end up costing you much more money. To get a bit complicated - Make sure you get a MySQL database, your able to run scripts to assist the building of your site, you have access to set up email POP3 accounts and access webmail accounts. Make sure your web hosting provider does not limit your bandwidth and you are not limited to how many files you can add to your hosting. MRC Media offer unlimited bandwidth and webspace, meaning you can have as many visitors to the site as you you want - some hosting services limit how many people will be able to see your site and how many files you can add to your hosting. MRC Media allow you add as many files as you like!!!! - all for only £30 a year!!!!!
• MRC Media can only set up your hosting AFTER you have a domain name! Tel/Text: +44(0)7505 083 681 or Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange hosting or to buy a domain and hosting.

3: Next you need to build/design your website. You can pay a website designer or you can build your own. MRC Media offer a website builder service for £20, which will allow you to set up a multi-page website easily by choosing different colours, pictures, website designs and adding your text etc. Having a web designer create a site for you can be expensive - but MRC Media can offer very competitive rates, that start from £75 for a complete site (which includes hosting for year, buying a .co.uk domain name and designing and uploading the site!). There are a number of other ways to build a site, here are a few examples:

• Wordpress: With one click via MRC Media hosting, you will be able to install Wordpress. Worpress is a blog building program that you are able to build a FREE web blog, but people are using it to easily create a Content Management System driven website. In basic terms - You can use Wordpress to set up a website that you can update yourself easily and it's FREE! This is the easiest way to create a website that you can update from anywhere on the web. You can easily make your website make you money by adding adverts and click banners - but we'll go into that a another time! There are a number of tutorials and website templates to create a Wordpress site - and a Wordpress sites can look very professional. You can set it up so people can pay for things via your website, add videos and add photo galleries etc. MRC Media offer a range of Wordpress support services, but there is a charge for this. Wordpress is an independent service that is not connected to MRC Media. You will need a MySQL database to install Wordpress (this is included with MRC Media hosting!).
• Joomla: With one click via MRC Media hosting, you will be able to install Joomla. Joomla is a website building program that you are able to build a Content Management System driven website. In basic terms - You can use Joomla to set up a website that you can update yourself easily and it's FREE! There are a number of tutorials and website templates to create a Joomla site. Creating a Joomla website can be complicated, but Joomla is a very powerful way to create a site - You can set it up so people can pay for things via your website, and you can add photo galleries etc. MRC Media offer a range of Joomla support services, but there is a charge for this. Joomla is an independent service that is not connected to MRC Media. You will need a MySQL database to install Joomla (this is included with MRC Media hosting!).
• HTML Coding: Don't be afraid! LOL! HTML is an easy to learn code that will let you build a website. There are a number of tutorials on how to use HTML and create a website. If you want something quick, and haven't got time to learn HTML coding - Just use Wordpress, Joomla or MRC Media to build your site!

MRC Media are able to set up your website within minutes and can have a under construction page and your email working within 12 hours. Building a website can be fun and you can take ownership of creating a site - but sometimes it's easier, and less stress - to just pay the professionals! (Especially when their as cheap as MRC Media! LOL!). MRC Media have set up and manage websites numerous companies including: a MOT garage, on-line radio stations, on-line magazines, a classical singer, youth groups, cosmetic surgery company, electrical companies, on-line shops, holiday homes personal websites plus much more! MRC Media have provided services for just email accounts, buying a domain and the customers have then gone on to build their own site. Have a look at our site for further info - www.MRCmedia.com